Tales of Two Lovers
by Linktriforce007
Summary: Emil arrives in Palmacosta to greet Marta. What happened afterwards? EmilxMarta
1. Chapter 1: Warmth

Chapter 1: Warmth

"…It can't be!" I looked at his face and yelled, "Emil!" I ran towards him, and he held me in his arms. I remembered back to when he told me that he'd always love me. He didn't realize this, but I was glad to hear those words. I was glad to hear the words of happiness, knowing that I had the perfect guy in my life. Even though I may only be 17 years old, I knew that this boy was the love of my life. His arms were warmer than before, as if he was in a new body. I guess technically he was, seeing as how he was separated from Ratatosk and all. But this new feeling was not a bad one, it was a good feeling. It was not just Emil Castagnier standing there, it was _my_ Emil.

He winked at me and said, "I love you." In all the times I ever said that to him, he had never once said it first. I began to say that I loved him, but he interrupted me with a kiss, just as I had done near the Altamira casino. This was the first time that he had ever kissed me first. It appeared to me that this was clearly a day for firsts. The wind blew my hair around, and Emil immediately grabbed my hand and said, "Are you okay?" I nodded, and he picked up one of the flowers that I always kept in my hair. He picked it up and moved it towards me, but not before he could kiss me again. He put the flower back into my hair, and it fit back perfectly. "It sure looks like these flowers brought us together." My face began to turn into a beet-red color, and I smiled at him. He looked at our hands, clasped together. I cuddled against him and said, "Should I let go?" Emil shook his head and said, "It's safer if we hold hands." I nodded happily, and noted to myself two words that sounded perfect together.

Marta Castagnier.

But that would be part of the future, and I was happy the way things were. I began to hold Emil, _my_ Emil tighter. One day, and I knew it would be soon, we'd be able to confirm that we were more than just friends. I no longer had a fan-girl crush, this was true love. And he and I were "Perfect Partners."


	2. Chapter 2: Perfection

Reviews are much appreciated!

Chapter 2: Perfection

I looked into his eyes. I wondered what he meant by loving me. He'd just gotten back from the Ginnungagap, and I was incredibly happy. I missed him so much, that I couldn't put it into words. I went up to him and said, "Emil, how are you doing? I mean it's been so long." Emil looked at me, and I looked back. He gave me his smile, my favorite smile in the entire world. "Marta?" I stood up straight. The way he said my name made my face turn red. I hoped that he hadn't noticed. I said with a nervous smile, "Yes, Emil?" I felt like jumping up and down, but I didn't want to embarrass myself. I expected Tenebrae to interrupt this moment, but I realized that he wasn't here. It was just me and him. Just me and him…what a pleasant thought. It was more than pleasant, it was perfect. Words couldn't describe it.

He said to me in his perfect voice, "Richter once told me that emotions aren't as powerful when put into words." I looked at him with a confused look, as if I didn't understand what he meant. But little did he know, I understood perfectly. But I wanted him to draw it out; after all, I loved it when he and I were romantic. "Emil, I don't quite understand." Emil laughed and said, "Well, I suppose it's more sensible to say that actions speak louder than words." I looked into his eyes, and found the comfort I needed in them. I smiled and said, "What actions are you referring to?" Emil looked at me and said, "I don't necessarily think that statement is completely correct. I think a mix of the two is effective too." I smiled at the thought. He looked into my eyes, and my face turned red again. He had his way of doing that, and I enjoyed it. He moved towards me and said, "I love you." He then put his lips up to mine, and I embraced the kiss. No matter how many times he kissed me, it never got old. His lips were soft, and his hands that embraced me were so warm.

"Marta?" I responded quickly, "Yes, my love?" He smiled instantly. I had to admit, I was surprised that he liked it when I called him that. He held my hand and said, "We need to go to Luin…I want to introduce my aunt and uncle to my girlfriend." My face turned to an even deeper shade of red and I repeated the words constantly through my head. "Your girlfriend? But we…" Emil smiled at me and said, "Oh..you don't want to be?" Emil was as dense as ever. "I do. I do so much!! It's just a shock!"

_My_ Emil looked towards the ground and said, "I guess I'm not worthy of you." I took his face in my hands and said, "Cheer up. Take it like a man. If we don't hurry up towards Luin, then you won't ever be able to introduce me as your girlfriend!" I saw his face turn red, and I took his hand. Each day was getting better and better with my Emil. I loved him. He loved me. These moments. The moments I spent with him were not just great, they were perfection. I leaned against him and said, "Time to go to Luin!" He and I both smiled, and we began walking hand in hand.


	3. Chapter 3: Distractions

Chapter 3: Distractions

We had just entered the northwestern gate of Luin, near the lake where Emil and I had officially introduced ourselves. I looked into Emil's eyes and found the relaxation I always wanted in them. This guy loved me, and I loved him. I looked at my hand, and looked at his face and smiled. "Do I have to let go now?" He stuttered, just like he had in the past. He replied nervously, "I…" I dropped his hand and said as I did before in Asgard, "Just kidding." I gave a slight smile. He then did something I wouldn't have expected him to do. He took my hand back and said, "Please, don't let go." I smiled and held his hand tightly. "Where else do I have to go but to you? I love you, Emil."

I stood up on my tiptoes and kissed him just as I did before on the bridge near Altamira's casino. "Have you ever considered the moments we've spent together? I think about them all the time." I responded happily, "Of course. I can remember them all perfectly." Emil smiled at me and said, "The Temple of Lightning?" I shrugged and said, "I hated you for that, but I still loved you." He laughed and said, "How can you hate and love someone at the same time?" I smiled too and said, "Anything's possible with love." I jumped on him happily and said, "Maybe we should meet your aunt and uncle now?" Emil nodded and said, "Of course."

A kid ran between Emil and got leveled because we were holding hands. He said, "Monster Emil has brought a girl monster with flowers growing from her head, and they hurt me!" I slapped the kid and he ran off crying. I knew this wasn't the end of the hatred of Luin towards us, but I didn't care, nor did he. He held me tighter and said, "Don't worry. I'm here. I always have been, and I always will be." I blushed and said to him, "Is there any part of me that I should change? If so, just tell me!" Emil replied with a smile…his smile… and said, "Don't change. You're perfect the way you are. And that's why I love you, dearest." He called me "dearest." I didn't know what made my face turn red more, the fact that he called me that, or said that I was perfect. My heart was beating incredibly fast, and I began breathing to make it sound not so obvious. Emil stroked my face, and my hair blew as if it was one with it, just like it had before. We continued walking, and eventually we climbed up a flight of stairs, and knocked on a door. "Emil, come in. We need to talk." He sighed, and I was confused. I knew something was up.

Emil's aunt and uncle entered the room and Emil said, "Uncle Alba, Aunt Flora! What's wrong?" Emil's aunt shook her head and Emil's uncle said, "Did you know the mayor of Luin has a son?" We both shook our heads, and a boy walked out. Emil and I both recognized him as the boy from before. The boy said to Emil's uncle, "Yep. That's them. Those are the two that tried to kill me." Emil and I looked at each other, and we both sighed.


	4. Chapter 4: Misunderstanding

Chapter 4: Misunderstanding

"We can explain!" I said. Emil had a serious look on his face, one that I wasn't used to. It didn't suit his personality very well. But for some strange reason, I still loved it. The kid, the apparent son of the mayor, had a goofy grin on his face. I think he hated us for some strange reason.

Emil yelled out all at once and said something under his breath. No one else heard it, but seeing as how I was so used to his beautiful voice, I heard it perfectly. What he said made me give out a slight giggle. I winked at him, which made both of us blush.

The kid spoke suddenly and said, "Looks like monsters can change their skin color too!" I punched the kid. "You're a liar and a punk, you know that, right?" The kid's veins began to pop and I saw Emil's guardians beginning to get annoyed as well. Emil, noticing their anger, spoke first. "Listen, I know every single person in Luin, and I know their parents as well!" Emil's uncle sighed and said, "What's your point? Are you hinting that we should feel sorry for you?" Emil's aunt said to his uncle, "We promised we'd try to be nice!" His uncle said to her, "No! He needs to hear this!"

Emil shook his head. "I don't expect you to feel sorry for me. I expect you to realize that the mayor doesn't have a son!" They both had shocked faces, and the kid ran off. "Uncle Alba, Aunt Flora, I'm sorry. We should be leaving now." Flora looked towards us and said, "Wait. We're sorry, okay?" I looked towards Emil, and Emil understood what I was about to say. After all, we were so in love that we could read each other's minds by just looking at each other. I smiled and blushed at that fact. Emil said, "Listen. I came to introduce you to my girlfriend, who I love with all my heart." Okay, so I have to admit, I definitely didn't expect him to say that. "But you said that you would treat me nicer than you previously have, and you aren't. You're treating her like a monster! Somebody lied to you, and you believed them, a person you never met before, before your own nephew! Tell me how you can live with yourself!" Alba raised his head and said, "We haven't been the greatest guardians, but we can give you one thing." I decided to be the one to speak. "And what could you give him that we could possibly want?" Alba bent over, and pulled out a piece of paper out of a box. He began to write on it, and asked me, "What is your name?" I said quickly, "My name is Marta Lualdi." He nodded and began to write on the paper. He gave it to me and I put it in my pocket. "What is it?" I asked. Flora responded saying, "This is our approval. I can see both of you love each other very much, so if you intend on getting married, then here is our approval." Emil and I said our thanks, and left Luin, hand in hand. I pulled out the paper and I read it out loud to Emil. "This letter proclaims that as the guardians of Emil Castagnier, he is entitled to engage Miss Marta Lualdi in the event of Holy Matrimony. May they be wished great luck and prosperity in their new lives."

Emil smiled and said, "Well, at least they approved of you." I laughed and said, "Yeah. And here I was, worried that could never happen!" I saw a red color come to his face, and I began to blush as well." He changed the subject immediately, obviously not ready for that yet. But I was willing to wait. I was willing to wait, because I knew that no matter what, we would always love each other.


	5. Chapter 5: Dreams

Chapter 5: Dreams

"Marta? Are you okay?" I smiled at the thought of him worrying about me. "You shouldn't be so spacy! If you are, then you might get hurt, and I don't want you to get hurt!" I blushed with stupidity. I suppose he got me there. However, I wasn't going to give up! We were together, and we got permission from his aunt and uncle to become husband and wife! How cool is that?" Emil, as if reading my mind, looked at me and blushed. I laughed, and wondered what was going on. Emil then said something, and it was music to my ears.

"Marta Lualdi, will you marry me?"

I looked at him with a blush, and saw that he was holding up a sapphire ring. I loved sapphire. It's so beautiful. I took the ring and said, "Of course, Emil. I'd love to marry you!" We kissed with more passion than usual, and I held my hand out. He put the ring on the middle finger of my left hand. I laughed and said, "Wrong one, love." He blushed and said, "Oops!" I moved it one finger to the left and said, "Well, it looks like you've never proposed to a girl before." He laughed with a blush, and then I saw a child in my arms. I knew his name immediately. "Aster, my child!" He looked up at me and smiled.

I opened my eyes, and was confused as to where I was. I realized that I must've been sleeping. But it was so realistic… but I suppose dreams are only dreams, right? Emil came up to me and said, "Marta? Are you okay? You shouldn't be so spacy! If you are, then you might get hurt, and I don't want you to get hurt!" I blushed at the thought of him worrying about me, then realized that this was exactly the same thing he said at the beginning of my dream. Maybe it wasn't just a dream. Maybe it was a prophecy… After all, as Aster once said,

_Courage is the magic that turns dreams into reality._


	6. Chapter 6: Homecoming

Chapter 6: Homecoming

Emil and I walked through the romantic city of Flanoir together. I looked at Emil's eyes as he wondered what was happening to me. I merely had a dream that was slowly coming true, except for the whole sapphire ring on my finger part. I sighed at this thought, and laughed. If this dream really was a prophecy, then we'd get married! I laughed at this, and then realized we'd also have a son. I blushed at the thought of being the mother of Emil's child.

"What are you thankful for, Marta?" He looked at me with a curious look. I jumped on him and gave him a kiss on his lips and I said, "I'm thankful that you're here, and not someplace else." Emil laughed and said, "There's no door, no lock, or anything else that can keep me away from you." I giggled and blushed. Just hearing those words made me get all warm and fuzzy inside.

He looked at me and said, "Remember when you said you wanted to make a pact with me? So that you could see me whenever you wanted to?" He blushed and stuck his hand into his pocket. "Well, I've got something here that can symbolize that pac-"

He was interrupted by the one and only Zelos Wilder. This guy always knew how to be annoying. "Tell me Zelos. Who are those girls with you?" Zelos laughed and said, "Oh, these ones?" He pointed around and said to me, "This one's Amber, this one's Kerrin. She's Lisa, that's Melissa, and her? Oh, that's Amy!" I sighed, realizing how many girls went crazy over this idiot. "You know, there's always room in the Wilder's mansion for one more, and I've got a bed open. You can even share one with me if you like…" I slapped him. This pervert wasn't about to lay a finger on me. Only Emil could do that. I winked at him, and he blushed. Zelos looked over to Emil and said, "Whoa! Emil? Jeez, when you'd get here? I thought I had all my hunnies to myself!" Emil looked at him and sighed as well. "Good to see you too, old buddy." He hit Zelos and then said, "I'll hit you!" Zelos rubbed his face and said, "You're turning out exactly like Sheena!"

Sheena came out, holding Lloyd's hand. "Emil! Marta! I always knew that you two would be great together! I think everyone else did too." Lloyd nodded, and Emil still felt guilty. I could see it in his eyes. "About Lumen's core…" Lloyd shook his head. "Forget about it, okay? It's over. What matters is that you and Marta are together, and we highly approve of it." Marta pulled out a piece of paper and said to them, "Well, here's a note of approval for us to get married. If you wouldn't mind writing your approval on paper, I'd appreciate it." Lloyd and Sheena signed with a smile, and Zelos slowly grabbed the pen, signing it much bigger than the other signatures. Clearly his ego hadn't faded.

Regal was next to come out, and he greeted both of us with his mature smile. Walking next to him was a girl wearing a red dress. She was very beautiful, and the two of them looked to be completely in love. Next to him was Presea, who for the first time in a while, had an immense smile on her face. "Who is that, Regal?" Regal laughed and said, "My love... her name… is Alicia…" Sheena nodded, as did Zelos. Emil had a shocked look on his face. "Alicia? But Lloyd told me that she died…" Presea looked upon Regal and he began to explain. "You see, Lloyd was travelling around with Sheena collecting Exspheres, right? At that very moment, he noticed something strange at the ranch where she was kept." Alicia flinched at the thought. It was obvious that it wasn't a very good memory. "Well, Lloyd remembered what Alicia's Exsphere looked like. After all, every Exsphere is different. Lloyd noticed that her Exsphere was lying on the ground, as if it had been brought back here after it had been destroyed. Well truth be told, it did indeed return to the ranch, and Alicia waited until someone found her Exsphere. When Lloyd picked up the Expshere, and treated it with his compassion, it began to glow, and Alicia was resurrected from the Exsphere. So our theory leads us to believe that once an Expshere is destroyed, it goes back to the place where it was originally manufactured, and the person sealed inside the Exsphere waits patiently to be found. Lloyd lifted up his Exsphere and said, "I was thinking about bringing my mom back that way, but I didn't want to risk it. After all, this Exsphere, the Angelus project, is very special compared to all the other Exspheres." Regal spoke, "And here I am, with my true love, happy as ever. Regal and Presea smiled happily, signing the paper which signifies approval for us to be married.

Raine and Genis both put their signatures on the letter of approval, but Genis had his head down. Emil asked him, "Why are you in such a rush to leave?" Genis said with a sad voice, "I was one point of from a perfect grade in school, so now Raine is training me night and day to prepare for the next quiz…" Raine shoved Genis, and they walked off as well.

Colette looked at us, gave her signature of approval, and smiled. "You better make me a bridesmaid, Marta." Marta laughed and said, "Of course! There's no one who could replace you!" Colette grabbed Lloyd's arm, and they walked off towards the Flanoir inn. "We'll be waiting inside, you two!" I responded, "Yes, we'll be in there shortly!" Colette and the others nodded, and I could hear a wine bottle opening, as to celebrate the signing of the letter, as well as Emil's homecoming.

I smiled and looked at him. The snow fell upon us and he took my hand. I began to blush and I said, "So this is the way things turned out." He replied, "Looks that way." I laughed and he said, "You know, I love you. I always will…we'll be together forever!" I looked at him with a beet-red face and said, "That pact that you were talking about before…the symbol. What was the symbol? May I have it?" Emil walked off in the distance and said, "Let's go eat!"

He sure knew how to change the subject, that's for sure. But one thing I knew was true. We would always be together, because we were in love, and I'd love him for the rest of my life, and even beyond that. I'm willing to wait, Emil. I'm willing to wait, with courage, until my dreams become reality.


	7. Chapter 7: Questions

Chapter 7: Questions

"I didn't quite understand, Emil..." I said to him. He held me around my neck, and it made me blush. The way he touched my neck, it felt so smooth. But it felt so rough at the same time. I knew I had to focus, though. After all, if I was just spacy all the time, I would get hurt after all. And he didn't want me to get hurt. But he was so sweet and cute, and all the things a girl could dream of. I decided to ask the question quickly, because I knew if I didn't, I'd never ask it.

"Emil? Who is Lloyd with? Like you know…?" Emil laughed and said, "He's with Sheena. He's loved her for a while, and they're together, just like they always wanted to be." I laughed, "Guess Zelos is pretty depressed." He laughed and said, "Yeah, it doesn't take much to make that guy jealous. Take a girl away from him for five minutes, and he feels like he's lost the world from his clutches." I laughed too and gave a slight blush that wasn't very obvious. I didn't think he noticed. "But, what about Colette?" Emil smiled and said, "It is pretty confusing, isn't it. She and him have a very deep relationship, but it's more of a brother and sister type rather than what we have." I loved when he compared relationships to ours, because I knew that ours was perfect.

All of a sudden, I saw Emil drop down to the floor. He was screaming in pain. This was not the Emil I knew. It was Emil, but more of a Ratatosk version than his normal self. "Please, don't touch her!" He screamed. I assumed he was talking about me. After all, he was never this sensitive about anyone else. "I'm the only one that should do that, and you know it's true!" His nose began to bleed, and it didn't exactly help cease my worrying about him.

Emil stood up and smiled as if nothing had happened. I walked up to him and said, "Emil, what's wrong? I heard you screaming about me not being touched… and that only you should do something. What's wrong?" Emil smiled and said, "Well, I guess I need to do this before anyone else decides to do it for me…" I was completely confused, and wondered as to what was going on. My eyes opened wide as I saw what he was doing next.

He bent on one knee and said, "Marta Lualdi, will you marry me?"

He pulled out a sapphire ring, just like the one in my dream. I pinched myself to make sure that this wasn't a dream. It hurt, so it was safe to assume that it wasn't. I responded like any girl absolutely in love would. "Yes, Emil Castagnier. Yes, of course I'll marry you." We both blushed an immense amount and I laughed as he was about to put it on my middle finger, just like in the dream, so I pointed to the correct one. He laughed in embarrassment, and it caused me to laugh as well. I looked at the ring on my finger. It looked so perfect, like it belonged there since the day I was born. I came up to him and said, "All of my dreams have just turned into reality." He smiled and I kissed him with every ounce of love in both of our bodies. "We'll be together forever," I said to him. He smiled back and said, "Every second of forever, for this is my pact to you." So the pact had been made, a pact between both of our hearts. And this pact would never be broken, no matter what obstacles the future presented. I let my lips loose from his and he said to me, "Let's go to Altamira." I questioned him with an evil grin and said, "Why? So you can take me to the spot where we first kissed?" He responded, "Maybe cause I just want to see you in a bathing suit on the beach." He winked at me and I laughed while blushing. I laughed and said, "Well maybe you'll get both." I kissed him and he said to me, "I love you, Marta Castagnier…" I blushed, realizing what he just called me. I responded with the first answer I could think of. Three words that mean a lot to a boy like him. "Let's go eat," I said. Then I whispered in his ear, "I love you too, my dearest fiancé..." He could answer all my questions at whatever pace he wanted, because I knew that we'd have all the time in the world.


	8. Chapter 8: History

Chapter 8: History

I decided that I'd take a look through the journal I'd kept throughout the journey that had led me up to this point. I looked throughout the inn in which we were staying. I sighed and finally realized that I'd lost it. I looked like a maniac, and finally found the journal. I picked it up, and flipped to the first page. I read the first line. It said, "_Hello, my name is Emil."_

I yanked at my hair. How could I be so stupid as to pick up his journal! I decided that maybe I'd just tap forward a bit in it. Certainly it couldn't be too bad? It was only the first few lines…

"_Today, I realized how dry Lake Sinoa really is. I suppose that there's no going back there today. After all, my uncle and aunt really have it in for me. I know that people don't like me, but do they have to show it so abundantly? I also met a beautiful young girl there today. I could stare into her eyes for hours. She claims to remember me from somewhere…but I don't know..."_

At the lake? Beautiful young girl? Did he meet someone else? I looked at myself head to toe. I'm obviously not beautiful. Not at all. I should really stop reading his private thoughts. But still, I needed to know... I flipped to the more important sections, at least the ones that were important to me. First, to the time in Asgard, where we held hands. That was important to me, I wondered if it was to him as well.

"_Hey, me again. These pages are probably bleeding with ink, but if Marta heard some of the stuff I was thinking, then she'd laugh at me."_

Oh Emil, you're so stupid sometimes. But I love that about you.

"_Today, we saw the Chosen of Regeneration, Colette. Marta wasn't too thrilled to see her, I can understand though. She was able to encounter Colette and let her live. If I met Lloyd, I don't think anything could stop me from getting revenge! Well, except Marta…her gentle words always know how to make me feel better."_

That's good, Emil. I'm glad I can make you feel better, and that I make a difference.

"_We held hands today, Marta and I. I thought that it was uncomfortable for her, so I let go. But she thinks it's safer to travel when we're holding hands, so I understand. She can be weird sometimes. We went to the Mural Cave, where then we stopped. It was safe, so I knew it would stop. But I wish she could've held on longer. It felt so nice, so warm._

Emil clearly didn't realize I was flirting with him. Some people are so dense, but he's cute when he's dense. Well, he's always cute. Wait, is cute the right word? Well, for now, I'll just stick with that.

There had to be more meaningful times, so I decided on the Temple of Ice, where he thought I died. Maybe that made an impression on him.

"_It's very cold here in Flanoir. This guy reeked of this cologne. Do guys really go out of their way to impress a girl? Jeez, if that's how it is, this world truly is more corrupt than I thought..."_

Ha, Decus. Way to make an impression, buddy. I know you're probably cursing me in Hell, or Heaven, or wherever you went. But at least you're with Alice, right? How nice for you.

"_Today, at the Temple of Ice, Richter stabbed Marta, or at least I thought it was her. Thank the Heavens it wasn't her. Marta thinks she's annoying me. Marta can be so stupid sometimes, but I love that about her. It's kind of cute. But what part of Marta isn't cute? If Marta died, I would never have been able to tell her how much I loved her! I'm too nervous to tell her how I feel. What if she only sees me as a really good friend? What if this whole loving thing is just a figment of my imagination?"_

You're so silly, Emil. How could you ever be just a friend for me? I love you more than anything in this world. Maybe, I should look to the part about Altamira next. Maybe he wrote about our first kiss…I began to flip the pages forward, and suddenly a hand pushed the book closed.

"You know, Marta, they call it private for a reason." I looked up to him, embarrassed that he had caught me. I was blushing so red, and he opened it to the last page. "Maybe you should read this out loud?" I smiled and read the last page.

"_I'm going to stop writing in this now. I know that someday Marta will find it, and read its contents. But Marta, know this. Know that what is written in these pages is the past, and what's most important is the future we have together. You are my past, present, and future, Marta Lualdi. And no secrets will ever be kept from you. I love you, Marta, more than anything in this world. The word "love" does not begin to describe how I feel about you. The word "love" only simplifies it; there is no word that can describe the feelings I have for you. The feelings I will always have for you."_

I looked up to him, my face more red than usual. I said to him, "I feel the same exact way…" He smiled, and we kissed for what seemed like hours, but as soon as it broke, I couldn't stand to be without it. I felt like I should kiss him again, so I did. He held me in his arms tightly, letting me know that he wasn't going anywhere. This feeling was beyond love, beyond perfection. But as far as words were concerned… I suppose love would just have to do for now.


	9. Chapter 9: Return

_  
"Love is a brand of egoism that ignores the feelings of its mark while insisting on its own selfish demands."_ – Tenebrae

Chapter 9: Return

I looked at our hands, and realized how lucky I was. He kept saying that he was the lucky one, and that I'm so incredibly beautiful, but he was mistaken. I was the lucky one. I had been flirting for so long. Even a fortune-teller had us paired up, and told us that Emil would come out of his shell and become a different person. And that had happened, with the efforts of both him and I. He and I had become much closer, and I was happy about this.

I looked into his eyes, and they began to drop. His hand slipped from mine, and he fell towards the ground. I broke his fall, but something soft broke my fall… something…familiar.

"Lord Emil is weak…being separated from Lord Ratatosk has been taking his energy away from him. He has not been aware of it, so I have been looking out for him." I glared at him and said, "Tenebrae, why did you come back? You were supposed to guard the door with Ratatosk!" He coughed and said, "Aqua and I were having a fight about who was more attractive. I obviously said me, but she kept on claiming that Richter was the most attractive one. After a while, Lord Ratatosk said that not all Centurions were needed. Clearly he was annoyed with Aqua's foolish opinions." I laughed and said, "Maybe both of yours, because Emil is the most attractive guy around."

Tenebrae sighed, so I decided to ask the question that Emil would've wanted to. "How long have you been here, Tenebrae?" He laughed and said, "Oh, just when you first started wearing the ring. It made me chuckle." I moved to hit him, and my hand went straight through. "B-but…I used to sit on you! How can you not be solid anymore!?" Tenebrae laughed and said, "Lord Ratatosk is awake now. I'm more powerful than ever."

I looked at Tenebrae and said, "Why is Emil still feeling pain on behalf of Ratatosk?" Tenebrae shook his head and said, "Lord Emil depended on Lord Ratatosk for fighting, but now has realized that he's on his own. It's taking a lot of energy out of him, doing something that he has had little experience in." I responded immediately, "What can we do?" Tenebrae looked at me and said, "Remember that staff your father had?" I nodded. "Well, that's called the Ragnarok Staff. It was made at the time the worlds were separated. There are seven objects known as the Divine Rings and those were made at the same exact time." I sighed and looked at Tenebrae. "So you're saying that we need to get the staff from Daddy, and find the Divine Rings as well?" Tenebrae nodded.

Emil raised his head and said, "Off on another journey again, I suppose." I sighed, knowing this would minimize my time with Emil. "Time to get going then," I said with a smile. We began to walk, signaling the start of our new journey.


	10. Chapter 10: New Adventure

This is the tenth chapter of _Tales of Two Lovers._ So, I thought I'd put in a disclaimer:

Marta: I love you more than anything in this entire world.

Emil: I…uh…I love you too!

Marta: You didn't say it proudly! What's wrong?

Emil: Nothing! Really, I love you too!

Marta: I love you more.

Emil: I know.

Marta: You're supposed to fight back! Say that you love me more.

Emil: Um, I do.

Tenebrae: That sounds very sincere.

Marta: Emil…I love you!

LordSymphonia: Ahem. Tales of Symphonia: Dawn of a New World, along with the other Tales games do not belongs to me, nor do any of their affiliations. The rightful owner of the Tales series is Namco, and I'm proud to write fanfics regarding their amazing games. Now, on to chapter ten!

Chapter 10: New Adventure

I looked at Emil, who barely looked alive. He looked like he normally did, but he didn't have the smirk he normally did, that evil little grin. We were off to Meltokio, to visit Daddy in prison, in order to get his Ragnarok staff. Tenebrae was looking at Emil. It appeared that Tenebrae could be either solid or not, depending on what he felt like being.

We entered the chamber, and Daddy smiled. "Marta, how good it is to see you. I've been getting lonely. Prison is boring. Believe me; you don't want to be locked up in here. Several Tethe'allans have been in here as well, and you know how they can be. I also have seen many priests from the Church of Martel, and they aren't any kinder."

I frowned and looked at him. "Daddy, there's something we need to ask you." He frowned and looked at Emil. "Wow...he's looking rather sad. What's wrong with him?" I looked at the ground and said, "Daddy? He's trapped inside himself. Ratatosk was ripped apart from him, and now he's lost all confidence in himself!" Emil raised his head and said, "Brute, I'm sorry." He looked at Emil and said, "Emil, son. Whatever they've done to you, I hope that I can help in some way." Emil looked back at him and said, "There's something we need to ask you about. Your staff, the one you used for magic, where is it?"

He looked around and said, "They were going to take it away from me, but I felt…in some way…that it would be needed. And I was right…what do you need it for?" I looked up at Daddy and said, "Have you ever heard of the seven Divine Rings?" He nodded and said, "The Divine Rings and my staff were made together. Inside the staff are seven small indentations which the Divine Rings can be placed in. But I warn you, if the Divine Rings and the staff are in one location, the world will be at the mercy of the one who holds the staff. Each ring controls a power of nature. Wind, Earth, Thunder, Water, Darkness, Fire, and Ice." Tenebrae replied, "Where are these rings?" Brute looked at him and said, "They're all in the possession of the Summon Spirits of that particular type."

I looked at Emil, and he looked back at me. "But we have a friend who possesses the power of all the Summon Spirits." Brute looked at us and smiled. "Well then. You'll have an even harder time finding them." I had a confused look at Daddy and he said, "Let me clear this up for you. If the rings are all in one place, then the world would already be destroyed. So clearly, they are in unforeseen locations. They're somewhere above the planet, somewhere where their destructive power can be kept in check." Emil shook his head and said, "No way. They couldn't be." I looked at him and said, "What couldn't be?" He looked at me and said, "Exire…The city of the half-elves. It floats in the sky…and Maxwell's there…" I shook my head and said, "Exire? But that city's a myth." Emil laughed. The Emil I got used to knowing was back. "Brute, is Exire where the rings are?" Brute smiled. "Yes, the rings are in Exire. Here, you'll need this." He handed his staff to us and said, "Convince Maxwell that you've come to Exire to help someone. I'm sure he'll understand." I looked behind me and said, "Thank you, Daddy." He looked back and said, "Be safe, my beloved daughter."

We left, and Emil and I walked hand in hand into the sunset towards the Tower of Salvation. We needed to talk to Yuan about getting a Rheaird. Not two Rheairds, just one. I wanted to make sure Emil and I rode together. I smiled at him, and we kissed. He held me in his arms and whispered into my ear, "I love you." I smiled happily, and blushed at the same time. He rubbed his finger on the sapphire ring he had given me, and I smiled. "As soon as this journey is over, we're getting married." I jumped on him and said, "Yay!" I rubbed my face into his chest and screamed to him, "I love you!" He looked back at me and said "I love you too." I couldn't wait until this journey was over. I didn't know which would be more fun…Getting married to him, or revealing my secret to him…


	11. Chapter 11: Fighting For Love

Chapter 11: Fighting For Love

Emil and I took a Rheaird to Exire, which was currently hovering above Triet. I can't stand the Rheaird, it's just a hunk of metal floating in the air. I still don't know what holds it up, if not coal. We walked into the village of the half-elves, where a woman named Maria said that she'd show the way to the Summon Spirit, Maxwell.

I sighed, realizing that this woman was also most likely to be a half-elf. I knew prosecution was wrong, but I couldn't help but being uncomfortable around them. I suppose it was because I had been taught that half-elves were bad people, so it would probably take a while to overcome my prejudice against them.

"This way," she said, pointing to a thin road, with a stone tablet at the end. "A summoner made a pact with Maxwell, but he comes back time to time. You were quite lucky to have come at this point in time, for now is one of the rare times at which he is here." I smiled, but Emil didn't look too happy. His head was bowed down, as if in a deep state of sadness.

Maxwell appeared instantly, but he didn't look very happy. On the contrary, he gave us a look as if he was saddened by our presence. "I see why you have come here. You were right to see the Divine Rings. I, of course realizing the situation, will give them to you, as long as you destroy the Ragnarok staff after the ritual is complete. I agreed and asked, "Why isn't Emil talkative these days?" Maxwell gave a surprised look at me and said, "Look into his eyes…it should be rather obvious."

I lifted Emil's head, revealing his eyes, which were completely dark. They didn't have the sparkle they normally did. It was as if he was in a blank state of mind, trapped within his own body. He had an incredibly lifeless appearance, which saddened me. At the thought of his body and his soul being separated, I began to cry.

I said to Maxwell, "What can be done?" I sighed. "You will fight me for the rings, and then I will give them to you. If you lose, I will still give the rings to you, but I will tell Emil your secret…what will happen in nine months." I looked at Maxwell, then to Emil and pulled out my Dual Spinner. "I will defeat you for the sake of Emil." Maxwell smiled, and lifted his hand into the air. Steel rods came from all sides behind me, and then they connected, to form a battle arena.

"Let us begin!" Maxwell said. I nodded and shouted out, "Prism Sword!" Maxwell stood still and laughed. "First Aid! Photon!" I reacted, "Photon!" Our blasts canceled each other out, and I said, "Divine Saber!" Maxwell moved his hand to the side and said, "Thunder Blade!" A sword came down on me, and several volts of electricity were inserted into my body. I yelled out, "Radiant Roar!" This clearly caused Maxwell some pain, as he fell to the ground. Maxwell smiled and said, "I don't have much energy left…I'm putting the rest of it into this last attack…METEOR STORM!" I knew that this was one of the most powerful magical attacks, and I knew that it was impossible to avoid.

Each meteor came down, and one by one, they came down upon me. I refused to give up though. I said in a soft voice, "I'm doing this for Emil…I love him…I won't let you stand in my way!" The meteors stopped, and Maxwell clapped. "Here you are," he said, handing me the rings. I inserted the rings into the staff, and the staff exploded, and one ring fell to the ground. Maxwell smiled, "Behold, the Divinity Ring."

I picked it up, and looked at it. "But this is just a piece of jewelry…we came all this way for jewelry?" Maxwell looked at me, and nodded. "But what about Emil? We can't just leave him like this!" Maxwell laughed. "The Divine Rings merged into a cure in the shape of what you wanted him to have most. This ring is what you wanted him to have. It's time for you to give it to him."

I slipped the ring onto his finger, and waited patiently for his reaction. I loved Emil, and with this ring on his finger, he'd know that I really wanted to be his wife. But I knew, someday…someday soon..I'd have to tell him what would be happening to me over the next nine months…


	12. Chapter 12: Choices

Chapter 12: Choices

After seeing that Emil wasn't getting better, I decided to give a call to the two most dependable people and in love people that I've ever met. They said that they would be there momentarily, so I stood at his side, sinking my fingers through his blonde hair. I came to the tip of his head, where that one spike hair stood. While most girls would push it down to make it even with the rest of the hair, I simply just moved it through my fingers. So this is how it felt to be doing this to someone else's hair... It felt strange, but at the same time, quite pleasant. I could've sworn I saw a smile come to his face.

I could hear a Rheaird landing near us, so I quickly moved my fingers out of his hair, but I heard him say lightly one thing. "Get back here, you stupid cat…" I sighed and said to my unconscious husband-to-be, "Why couldn't you have said something a little more…helpful?" I saw a slight twitch in his hand occur and he said quietly, "Give it back, you miserable swine!" I smiled. Looks like that kitty made Emil a little grumpy…

I heard a thump, and my door flew open, with Sheena collapsing immediately. Lloyd followed her and said, "I thought I brought you, not Colette…" Sheena punched him and I said with a slight chuckle, "Lover's quarrel?" She gave me a ninja glare and said, "Oh, as if you've never had one?!" I thought back to the past where I called Emil despicable and slapped him. But that wasn't really Emil; it was him being taken control over by Ratatosk. It's not like he didn't care, he and his emotions were just sealed away. I then realized that not the exact same thing, but a similar event was happening right now. It was as if he was being possessed by Ratatosk, but no one was there to possess him. But I had obtained the Divinity Ring, which according to both Daddy and Maxwell, would bring him back to normal.

I looked at Emil, and sighed. "Well, you two, what do you think? I invited you two here specifically so you could help with Emil's problem." Sheena replied, "We know, we know." Lloyd laughed. Clearly he was happy to be with Sheena.

"Wow. This is advanced…it's like what happened to Colette on the first journey we went on," said Sheena. Lloyd looked at her and said, "But this is different. I can feel that it's different, more complex. It's as if he's in two places at once." Sheena laughed and said, "Sorry, I couldn't tell the difference, all guys are like that." I laughed, and remembered I had to be serious. Sheena smiled, "At least I got one of them to laugh, now for just Emil."

Lloyd and Sheena both examined Emil, and Lloyd looked away. "I see the problem." Sheena looked for a while longer and said, "Yep. Me too." I was confused as to what they were talking about. What could be wrong? Was it something physical? Or did they read his mind? Sheena finally said, "Tell me, Marta. Before you obtained the Divinity Ring, did he make any functions at all?" I sighed and said, "He did, but eventually he was no longer with us. It was as if he had died, but he didn't actually die." Sheena responded, "I thought it would be something like that." I was confused. "What do you mean? Tell me, what's the problem you saw?" Sheena and Lloyd looked at me with a serious tone and Lloyd said, "It's one of those things that we can't tell you. You must figure it out on your own." Sheena nodded, and I was left wondering what they were talking about.

I whispered to myself, "So there's something wrong here…what could it be…" I said. It had to be simple enough for me to realize. Sheena had asked me about the Divinity Ring and what happened with it. Maybe the ring had something to do with it? I studied the ring. It looked like it normally did. It wasn't like there were any cracks or anything that had to be replenished in order to make it work… I began thinking more in depth about what's happened before and after the ring was obtained. I had given it to Emil immediately. Was that a mistake? No. If it was a mistake, Maxwell would've stopped me. The ring had immense power, so it should have enough power to work.

I looked at the Sorcerer's ring on his hand. I removed it, thinking that maybe that would allow the ring's energies to move more freely. No, that wasn't the problem. I sighed in frustration. There was some reason that he wasn't waking up. I moved away and said, "Are you giving up? Are you going to allow the father of your child to be bedridden for your entire time pregnant with his child?" I gave her a glare and said, "You can tell too? It's not like I look pregnant!" Sheena laughed. "I'm from a vast ninja clan. While Sir Bud here wouldn't be able to tell, I can because I am a fellow female as well as a cunning ninja." Lloyd sighed, "That why you're always falling into holes, oh cunning one?" Sheena punched Lloyd. "We're here to help, not amuse Marta!"

Sheena was right, though. And because I responded the way I did, I had given a confession to being pregnant. It didn't matter though. I have always loved Emil, and I always will. I cuddled up against his chest and whispered lightly, "Emil…what's wrong with you?" I smiled, as if he gave me my answer. Of course…it was so obvious. The Divinity Ring…it had already gave out all of his power, he just wasn't ready to wear it until it was given to him at the altar!

Sheena smiled, as she realized that I'd finally figured it out. I removed the ring, and the darkness lifted from his eyes. They sparkled their normal green, and I embraced him. I said to him while crying, "I missed you so much!!! Never leave me again!!" Emil…_my_ Emil smiled at me. "So, you're pregnant." I was worried that this might come across as bad news to him. He smiled. "I'm so happy! I get to be the father of **your **child! I loved how he spoke up during the word "your." It made me so happy that I was going to get married to someone as loving and as handsome as Emil Castagnier.

I looked at Emil and said, "What shall we name our child?" He looked into my eyes, and I blushed. They were so amazing. I missed how much they sparkled. "I think for a girl, Audrey's a good name. It's both cute and adorable, just like her mother." I blushed at the words he said. They sounded so perfect coming from his lips. I looked into his eyes and said, "And for a boy's name?" Emil was thinking long and hard about this one. "I think Aster is a good name for a boy." He said the name exactly as it was in my dream. Emil smiled and said, "I think that name needs to live out a whole human life."

I nodded. I didn't tell him this, but I knew from the dream that we would have a son. I was curious, so I decided to ask him a different question. "Were you thinking about a cat when you were asleep?" This brought a bright red color to his face. "Yeah. Stupid cat took away your engagement ring. You took it off, and it ran off with it. I held him in my arms. "I'll never take it off, because I will never stop loving you." He smiled and said, "I can't wait until tomorrow." I looked down and remembered what he said before but decided I'd tease him a bit. "What happens tomorrow?" He blushed and said, "Tomorrow you get to start writing invitations!" I laughed and said, "Invitations to what?" This made him blush even more and he said, "To our wedding." I jumped on him. "Yay!! And I'm so ready for that Emil!!" He kissed me and said, "Make sure everyone that can come actually does come. And make sure you pick your bridesmaids carefully!" I said to him, "And make sure you pick your best man carefully." I laughed and said to her, "Don't worry. It won't be Zelos. We don't want the best man to be flirting with the bride." The bride…I liked the sound of that. An immense blush came to my face, a blush redder than before. I giggled and kissed him. I embraced him and said, "We'll always be together. There will never be anyone else." He smiled and said, "Always."


	13. Chapter 13: Proud

Chapter 13: Proud

Apparently everyone knew I was pregnant, even before I told them. This made me sad, causing my head to bow a bit. Emil put his arms around me softly and said, "Hey there." He scratched his head and pulled out an apple. An apple? Are you kidding me? I'm not just feeding myself you idiot!

He threw it at my head and said, "And here I was going to say I missed you. Guess I didn't…" I was offended, but then thought about it for a second. Oh, it was a joke. I threw the apple back at him harder. "That wasn't funny, Emil." I said to him. "And all you've got for us to eat is an apple?" Emil laughed. "I thought we would share an apple. I know you like that romantic stuff." I sighed and said, "I'm already sharing with our child, Emil." Emil laughed and said, "I know, that's why I brought more than the apple." He took out six high quality steaks, and smiled. "I thought this might help the situation."

I looked at him and hugged him. I poked the steak with a knife and saw that it wasn't pink at all. My favorite kind…Emil sure knows how to cook. I smiled as I saw what it looked like. "Aww, it looks like a bear!" Emil smiled. "It was the first monster we fought against, so I thought I'd make it. Sort of like a sym-" He wasn't able to complete his sentence because my lips were on his. I loved him even more when he was romantic. He seemed to be like that quite a bit lately.

Ever since the previous incident we had with the Divinity Ring, his mood was a lot happier. He seemed to be braver, as if his time away from the real world had inspired him. "You inspire me even more, Marta." I looked at him and laughed. Apparently he could read my mind. After all, we did spend every minute of our time together.

He looked at me and sighed, "Marta? I got something the other day…" I looked at him curiously. "Yes, Emil, what is it?" He pulled out a needle and said, "You're an elf, and I'm a human." I looked at him curiously. "The only thing that makes us elves and humans is blood. Elves live a lot longer than humans, and that means I won't be there for your entire life!" I laughed and said, "You're right, of course." I laughed at how I said it. It sounded so mean, but it didn't seem to matter to him.

"So can I have some of your blood? I know that elven blood is much more potent than human's, so it will drain out my blood, and I will become an elf! Plus, I'll be able to use magic in other methods than the Sorcerer's Ring!" I nodded and said, "Well, if it will allow you to use magic elsewise…" I winked at him. The words he was speaking, how he wanted to be alive for my entire life, they were music to my ears. I hated needles, but I would do it for him, because I loved him.

The needle began to fill up with blood, and I laughed. "Wow, this really stings!" He laughed too and said, "You're halfway there. Be a girl! Suck it up!" I pouted and said, "Just because I'm a girl doesn't mean that I'm not tough!" Emil laughed and said, "Looks like it's done." I looked at the needle and said, "Why you little distracter!" He laughed, and I tossed him the needle.

He extended his arm, and shoved the needle into his arm. I saw the blood slowly beginning to enter his body, and eventually it was empty. He pulled the needle out, and the Sorcerer's Ring broke in half. Emil laughed. "Looks like it worked!" I smiled and held out my hand. "I call upon thee in the land of the dead, to unleash thy fury of thunder. Indignation!" A ball of electricity came from his hand and I said with a smirk, "You didn't think you could do spells like that without practice!" He stuck out his tongue at me and said, "Well you do it all the time!!" I did the same and said, "Well, you're the one that's in love with me!" He moved up to me and kissed me. His lips parted and he said, "And proud of it."


	14. Chapter 14: Forgotten

_A wise head makes a closed mouth. _– Marta Lualdi

Chapter 14: Forgotten

I walked into the hut, and saw the Butterfly Gem sitting on the shelf in the next room. I heard that this jewel, when given to someone, would bless them with a blessed power. I came by myself, without Emil, to get this gem. I entered the abandoned throne room of the palace, and reached for the gem. It fell off the shelf, and landed on my back. My eyes began to close, and I fell to the ground. The last thing I heard was, "The new princess has arrived." I began to ponder this person's words. It wasn't long before I fainted.

"Where am I?" I asked. "Why princess, you are at home!" A man stated in a confused tone. My memories were vague, but I couldn't remember anything other than this. "Princess, is something wrong?" I shook my head slowly. "No, I'm fine." "What land is this? The land I rule, I mean." He smiled and said, "You rule every single inch of this world." I looked at my hand, and saw a sapphire ring upon it. I suppose I bought this. I must've bumped my head really bad or something. Well, being a princess is outstanding, but it's kind of weird. This throne room sure is dusty. I'd have to do something about that. I looked upon my high priests, and they bowed before me. In my hair, I wore two flowers. I completely don't remember them, either. It was as if I'd forgotten everything before this point. Oh well, I thought. They'd come back eventually. I fell asleep at my throne and said, "I'm feeling very tired..."

I woke up in Luin, and saw a boy behind me. He had dark brown hair, and smiled when I looked at. "Marta, how nice that you've awoken." Who is Marta? I pondered a thought and shook my head. Maybe me? I don't know who this Marta girl is. I'm the princess of this land. "Are you one of my high priests?" The man laughed and said, "High priest? Can't say I am." I looked at him with a confused face and said, "But I'm the princess of this land! Everyone's here to respect me!" The boy laughed and said, "Princess? No, you're an old friend of mine!" I don't remember this kid… Maybe I dreamed of being a princess…but it seemed… so real. I laid down in my bed, and fell asleep. But I knew that something was wrong.

I woke up in a silver chair, and there were six priests on their knees. "My princess. Are you okay? You were having a horrible dream." I looked at the high priests. What was going on? These dreams, they were so real! There is no way this could be coincidence… These dreams were so real… I couldn't understand what was happening to me.

"Give Marta back, you jerks!" A blonde haired boy looked at me. Who was this boy? And how did he know me? "Marta, don't you recognize me? It's me…Emil!" The high priests laughed. "Princess Marta is not listening to your rubbish!" Emil shook his head and said, "Marta! Break free! This isn't who you are!"

I looked at the boy, and I sensed his sincerity. This boy truly knew who I was. These visions, these dreams of me being a princess, they were real, as was the supposed dream of Luin. But these people were clearly lying to me.

The leader of the priests pressed a button, and I screamed. "Marta? Are you okay?" The priest laughed. "The Butterfly Gem is taking control of her. It won't be long before she dies." I looked at Emil and words flew from my mouth…words I didn't know I was thinking. "I love you, Emil." He smiled and said, "I love you too." I smiled and said, "Even if I die now, know that I will always love you!" Tears began to drop down both of our faces. Emil held me and said, "I won't let you die!" Electricity from the Butterfly Gem pulsated from my body to his, and he screamed. "Marta, I won't let you be hurt!" As the energy of the Butterfly Gem flowed into Emil, I began to remember what had happened.

It all began with me entering the palace that I was now inside. I had taken the Butterfly Gem, and it had erased my memories. It allowed them to use me as part of their sick game. I pulled out my Dual Spinner and drove it into my back. "I won't allow the Butterfly Gem to hurt you either, Emil! I cannot truly be alive if I'm not living with you!" Emil moved his hand towards my back, but I shook my head. "This must be done." He dropped his hand and said, "Be careful." I smiled and said, "I always am." I put one of my flower accessories into his hair and said, "I'll be back for this." He smiled and the Dual Spinner hit a piece of metal in my back. I moved my hand to the metal piece, and pulled out a red and black Butterfly Gem.

Emil smiled and said, "Time to go home." I smiled and said, "Not just yet." He had a curious look on his face, and I moved towards the leader of the high priests. "Stay away from me!" I took the Butterfly Gem from my hand, and threw it on his back. I glared at him and said, "Let's see if anyone comes to rescue you." He was shrieking in pain, and eventually fainted.

Emil looked at me and smiled. "Are you okay, Marta? I was worried about you." I looked at him and said, "Thank you for not forgetting me." I kissed him, and then parted from his lips. He instantly grabbed me around the neck, and kissed me with an amazing passion. "I love you, Marta. I always have. I just didn't know how to tell you." I smiled and said, "I think you just found a way without actually telling me." He continued the kiss with me. I was amazingly lucky to be engaged to such a guy, and even though I had forgotten him for a time, I knew he'd never forget our feelings for each other.


	15. Chapter 15: Preparations

_I cannot truly be alive if I'm not living with you!" _– Marta Lualdi

Chapter 15: Preparations

I looked at myself in this dress. It showed my features a little two well, I thought. Sheena laughed and said, "It's definitely your clothes." This made me blush. I never really thought of myself like that before. I always thought that I was just a normal girl, with average features. No better than any other girl. That's what I thought.

Sheena looked at me and said, "What do you think of your dress?" I laughed and said, "I don't want Zelos to look at me all day, if that's what you're wondering." She smiled and said, "Something different then." I laughed and nodded.

I already had my bridesmaids planned out. First of all, was obviously Sheena. The others were Alicia, Presea's sister, and Colette. I decided to keep it slimmed down, I didn't want all of Sylvarant and Tethe'alla to be there. I wondered who would be Emil's best man. I figured it would probably be Lloyd, but there's always a chance that I could be wrong. After all, Lloyd wasn't the guy who exactly looked like he would show up in time for a wedding. I figured that this was Emil's business, but I couldn't help but be curious.

Sheena held up a blue dress. I tried it on, and it didn't provide much curiosity. Because of that, I really liked this one. I looked at Sheena and said, "What do you think?" Sheena laughed and said, "Well, I think it matched another part of you quite well. She pointed at the ring and I laughed. "Yeah, I suppose so."

I looked at myself in the mirror. Little Aster was really taking up space in my stomach. Sheena laughed and said, "You look fine." I used a magic spell so that my stomach didn't look as fat and I also used another spell so that the dress didn't look very loose because of the illusion. I smiled at her and laughed. "You're right. I do look fine." She laughed and said, "Okay. So you don't want everyone to know what you've looked like after six months." I laughed. It had actually only been 4 weeks, because elves bodies were different than humans. The way I figured it, I should be giving birth soon, just hopefully not before the wedding.

The wedding was in three days, and the moon had just begun falling. (A/N The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask reference) I smiled and looked at myself. She put the flower of a rose in my hair, curious to how it looked. "You should definitely wear these." I put two in my hair, where I normally put my flower accessories. I had to admit, the roses looked decent. Sheena looked at me and smiled, "You look great!" I laughed and nodded.

We purchased the dress. We had to cough up 451,260 Gald for it. They should've just taken my arms and legs while they were at it. I pulled out the bills and the cashier smiled. Yeah, I hope she was happy taking all that money away from me, because I sure wasn't. I'd just purchased a Diamond Spinner for 1,000,462 Gald, so I wasn't really psyched about spending more, but this was a once in a lifetime event.

We walked out the door, and I decided that the preparations were all completed. Now it was time to see my beloved Emil, and cuddle up with him under a nice warm blanket, eating the steak that he was currently cooking. I smiled at the thought, and began to walk home.


	16. Chapter 16: Father

Chapter 16: Father

Wearing the blue dress, I took a gentle walk down the aisle. The priest was dressed formally, but seeing as how daddy and mommy weren't able to come, and Emil's parents weren't able to either, it was a very strange wedding.

Emil and I both said to each other, "In life and death, we will always be together. No matter how far away we might be, our hearts will always be together." The priest looked at Emil and said, "Do you Emil Castagnier; take Marta Lualdi as your lawfully wedding wife?" He smiled and me and said, "I do." The priest looked at me and said, "And do you, Marta…" I responded before the question was fully complete. "I do!" Emil smiled at me with the smile he gave when he was incredibly happy. Knowing this, I was happy too. We were getting married, and what a day it was. It was so sunny and beautiful out.

All of a sudden, there was a whistle and I looked towards the door. My bridesmaids looked towards there as well, and so did Yuan, a surprising choice for Emil's best man. Yuan's eyes began to water, and he gave a glare. "You said you were gone." I didn't recognize the voice. "You really thought I'd miss my son's wedding?" Emil's eyes stretched. "Son?" He laughed and said, "Your memory really isn't that great, is it?" He revealed himself to Emil and the others. Colette looked at him and said, "Kratos!" He gave a smirk and said, "Yes, my son. I'm here for you."

Lloyd looked at him and said, "Dad, but I'm your son." Kratos laughed. "Maybe we should let the ceremony finish first." We all nodded and the priest said, "You may kiss the bride." He kissed me with passion, a passion that hadn't occurred since the event that put little Aster in my stomach. The rings had been slipped on our fingers, and we walked off in happiness.

At the reception, having been driven by limo, Kratos began to explain everything. "Emil's parents were only foster ones. We had a feeling that Emil might have been in danger, so both of Emil's foster parents took our place. They gladly died for the boy they hardly knew." Lloyd looked at his father and said, "So Emil and I are brothers?" Kratos nodded. "Yes. We preferred to have the connection between you two severed until the time was right." Emil looked at Kratos and shook his head. "How could you? I've been passed down so many times; it's hard to know what's real and what isn't!"

Kratos nodded and said, "You are not Aster, if you were wondering. You are merely a reincarnation of him. You are not the same person." I looked at Emil, and he looked back with shock. He looked as if I had the answer, but I knew that only he had a solution to this situation. Emil sighed. "Who am I!? If I'm not Emil, and I'm not Aster, who am I!?" Kratos put the hand on Emil's shoulder, and Emil sighed. "Lloyd is my brother…how can that be?"

Tenebrae looked at Emil and said, "Maybe you should ask Aqua. She seems to think that she's the smart one all the time!" Emil shook his head and said, "Aqua's not here. Only her hatched core is here." Tenebrae looked and said, "Pray to the core." I took the core out of my pouch and said to myself, "Core of Aqua, grant me vision now. Show me the truth of who Emil is!" Aqua's voice appeared in my head and said,

_Emil's true form is Emil. Ratatosk and Aster have been merely been masks to hide the true form of Emil. The one who is named Emil."_

Aqua's voice disappeared, and I jumped on Emil. Kratos' grip loosened because of the velocity of the jump, and Emil looked at me. "Do you know who I am?" I nodded continuously in a happy mood. "You are Emil, the father of my child. You are Emil. 100% Emil. Completely." Emil smiled, happy to hear that everything was settled. Lloyd looked at Emil and said, "You got her pregnant? That means you…Way to go dude!" Emil and I both punched him and I said, "Boys."

Emil and I walked off in hand, and our rings sparkled in the sunlight. Finally, everything was as it was meant to be. Now, I just needed to get this child out of my tummy and everything would be great.


	17. Chapter 17: Evolution

"_I've been passed down so many times; it's hard to know what's real and what isn't!" _– Emil Castagnier

Chapter 17: Evolution

Mr. Kratos as Emil's dad. How strange… this ceremony has been extremely weird, and I don't even know what's going on with my son-to-be. We were meant to have a child, but still… I was worried.

Emil looked at me, and he was practicing his magic again. Guess our honeymoon to Altamira was just a training ground. Very romantic, Emil. I heard him say, "Indignation!" A little spark popped out of his hand. He sighed. I shouted to him, "Healing spells are a little easier. Maybe you should try those!" He nodded and said "First Aid!" My stomach stopped aching for a bit. I felt quite a bit better. Apparently it worked. He smiled and said, "Well, at least I've got those down." I laughed and said, "Keep training! You can never be perfect!" He laughed and said, "I guess not."

After hours of practice, Emil finally learned Revitalize, and at that, I figured his healing training was at an end. But, there's always room for improvement, and he knew that, I'm sure. I hugged him and said, "Congratulations, maybe you should rest a while on the whole attacking and think of yourself as a healer. Revitalize is a very strong attack that can only be used after quite a bit of practice! You should be glad!" He smiled and kissed me, "I'm not glad just because I did that. I'm proud because I have you." I blushed and moved my fingers down his back and said, "Well, I'm not the only lucky one." He chuckled and said, "Marta, I'm ticklish!" I laughed and said, "Should I stop?" He laughed and said, "If you feel the need to." I laughed and continued playing with my fingers. It was amusing to me.

"Lady Marta, I believe there's a problem." I shook my head and said, "Tenebrae, what's up?" Tenebrae said, "Look at yourself!" My skin glowed a purple color, and I screamed. "What…what's going on?!" Emil's eyes shook and he screamed. (A/N this happened in an earlier chapter) "Lord Emil? What's wrong?" I looked at him in pain and he said, "Marta…what's happening to us?"

"Oh my.." said Tenebrae. "Oh my…what oh my?!" I said. Tenebrae shook his head, "Lady Marta, you're going into labor…and Lord Emil…he's…evolving."

I was rushed off to Heimdall hospital immediately. Apparently this was the best place for me. Emil however, was undergoing something which appeared worse. I screamed in pain as I was giving birth. I felt like I was going to die. My heartbeat was beginning to drop…

I heard one word before I fell over. "Revitalize!"

I woke up and saw Emil on the ground. I was feeling fine, and our Aster was in the hands of Colette. But even though my pain was over, it appeared that Emil was getting worse. What was this evolution thing? Did it have something to do with my blood? I felt guilty and said, "Emil! Emil! Wake up!"

But he didn't move. On the contrary, his heart was barely beating.


	18. Chapter 18: Death

A/N, it's been a while; but this is my favorite fic of all time to write. It is the one that touched my heart the most; and I've been thinking for such a long time how to make it better. And please don't be depressed by the title of Chapter 18; because the title may be more deceiving than not.

Chapter 18: Death

I lifted up Emil's eyes and was absolutely horrified. His eyes were completely black. It was as if oil had been poured into his eyes. I shook my head and said, "Why? Why does everything have to be like this? Whenever something good happens in my life; it all goes downhill! Why?"

Tenebrae looked at our son and said, "This is very unusual. It's like casting magic has done things to his body." He looked at Emil and fell backwards after seeing his eyes. "Your…blood. It's…a foreign substance to his body. Lady Marta. His body is fighting off your blood. Your blood. It's an infection to him."

I looked at my hands. "What…have I done?" I said. "My…Emil…why? What did I do to deserve this? I removed everything bad in my life and swore to always be by his side forever, and so did he! So why is he doing this? Why is it ME who is the infection!"

"Lady Marta, it is pointless to get angry. It won't help anything." I shook my head. "Why…did this happen….?" Tenebrae looked at me and said, "You've been doubting yourself for a while about this, haven't you? The whole magic thing." I looked at myself and said, "Yes. I have."

Tenebrae looked at me and said, "Sometimes, doubts cause pain. Emil may be waiting for you to accomplish something. He can only father your child; the child of the girl he loves more than anything in the world, if she has faith that he can be there for her. He saved your life; Lady Marta. If he hadn't been there, you would've died, and Aster may have as well."

I looked at myself. Tenebrae was right. I leant over and kissed Emil's lips with an enormous amount of passion and said to him, "I'm..so sorry Emil. I wasn't able to be this spectacular wife for you that I wanted to be."

I looked away, and put my hands in my face, ashamed. I felt my hair moving. A warm touch to my face. I was hallucinating now. Just what I needed. Now I'm losing myself as well… Then, I felt the warmness go through my hair. "Mar…ta…" I turned around to see the sick man trying to push Tenebrae off his head. "He's…muffling my face…" Now I was CERTAIN I heard that part. I pushed Tenebrae off his head to see a smiling Emil and said, "You're not a spectacular wife, Marta. You're a perfect one." My entire face turned red. "Stop…making me blush! It's embarrassing!"

Emil looked at himself. "Sorry. I just can't help telling the truth." I looked at him and kissed him. He was okay. My husband, Emil; was perfectly fine. Such…a nice feeling. He stroked my hair and I smiled at him. I kissed his lips and said to him, "I love you, Emil." He smiled and said, "I love you too, my dearest Marta."

I looked at him and said, "Now, we'll finally be together…forever." He smiled and said, "Yes. All these distractions; all these doubts…Now; they are all dead. And with their death, our very handsome son has come to life." I smiled and said, "Now that's a death I can tolerate." He got up from his bed; and I took his hand and held it tightly against my face. He held his son in his other hand, and together we walked off, with smiles in our hands.

Parenthood. What a feeling. What a cozy, warm feeling. And I knew that Emil would be there…_My_ Emil would be there. Every step of the way. And whenever one of us would fall; we'd pick each other up. That is love. And that is what truly can be defined as perfection.

Well; that's the end of this fic. I know it took a while for this end chapter; but I didn't know how to write it, and I just wrote it while not wanting to take salt out of my parents' vehicle because it's late out. I'm not a parent; or even a boyfriend. But I know that one day I might be, and whatever I become, I will be the very best I can be.

Thank you for reading this. It's been a long road since December of 2008, and I'm glad you stuck with me until the end. Thanks for the wait, I hope it was worth it.

Paul/Linktriforce007/LordSymphonia/Someone in need of less nicknames


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